Crazy is as Crazy Does
by Lost Demon Kunoichi
Summary: In the present, Shippou is all grown up. He's a well known doctor for mentally ill patients, and he is surrounded by friends. Too bad he has to deal with a supposedly 'insane' Kagome Higurashi.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it. Sorry. Its the cold, hard truth, but it makes me so angry...

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The nurses watched in fear as Kagome screamed out in fury and rammed herself against the wall, yelling, "They exist, god damn it!" Finally giving up, she slumped against the wall and whimpered as she clutched her bleeding hand. "Retarded bitches. I wish you would die!" Kagome shouted and banged her head against the door.

Kagome felt unconsciousness approaching her once again that day, and she welcomed it full heartedly. Slowly, the darkness took over her mind just as she saw a figure with red hair wearing a white lab coat open the door.

-Earlier that day-

Dr. Yashiro rubbed his temples as he looked over his glasses at the new patient files. Even his demonic power inside him wouldn't be able to get rid of his migraine from hell. Sighing, he opened up the file and skimmed over the first page. One thing caught his eye.

'_Believes she is a miko, and traveled with demons in Feudal Japan, along with a taijia, and a monk_.'

Immediately he looked up at the top of the page and gasped at what he saw.

_'Higurashi, Kagome. Female, age 20. Mentally unstable patient, transferred 5 times_.'

"Kagome.. I thought you died." Dr. Shippo Yashiro whispered. "You're still alive." He flipped the file closed and stood, quickly walking to the room where said girl was residing in.

-Now-

When Shippo walked into the room, Kagome had just knocked herself out again. She looked the same as she had back then, except her hand was bleeding badly, and there was blood on the walls, probably her own. He glared at her for being so stupid, but her face looked so peaceful he could not help forgiving her. But not completely.

He glanced back at the nurses whispering beside the door and pointing inside at the girl. "Women, stop gossiping and get me some bandages for the patient." He said coldly. They immediately stopped chatting and ran off to get the gauze, lest they be fired for not paying attention to the girl.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, a nurse tentatively walked into the small room, her white heels clapping loudly against the floor as she held the cleaning tools out to him. "Leave." The poor nurse didn't need to hear it twice and all but ran out the door.

Shippo looked over Kagome once again, and sighed deeply. Today was going to be a long, long day.

!End!

Tobari-chan : I hope you guys enjoyed my first chapter. I know its really short, but still.. I'm trying. So be quiet and review. Please.. no flamers. I don't want to be sad for the rest of the night. The first person to review gets a cookie! -


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I am not Rumiko Takahashi, so I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I wish I did and I was though.

After Shippo had gotten Kagome all cleaned up and wrapped, he picked her up and set her on her white-clad bed. She mumbled a bit in her sleep, and then whined as the pain set in. He picked up his arm and gently brushed it against the side of her face. _'How did.. **why** did she tell everyone about the past?.'_ A sudden rush of anger came upon him and he pulled his arm back. Standing slowly, he watched as she squirmed to get comfortable without bringing more pain to her sleeping mind.

Shippo stood there until he saw that she was comfortable, then strode out of the padded room. He glanced back at her, and gave her a pitying stare before he shut the door and called for the cleaning crew to wash the blood off her walls.

Later

Kagome's blue eyes fluttered open to the dark room. She lay there for a few minutes, pondering over where she was. Finally the memories of the night before rushed to her mind. Carefully Kagome looked over at her injured hand and winced slightly when she tried to move it. _'God I'm stupid.'_ She thought as she leaned back into her hard pillow to stare at the white ceiling. A sad sigh passed through her lips. Soon, somebody would be coming to check on her poor, hopelessy 'insane' soul. Pity.

Shippo had just finished reading over the rest of Kagome's files when a nurse knocked on the door of his office. Before even glancing up, he leaned back in his chair and called for her to come in.

"Dr. Yashiro, Miss Higurashi has woken up," The nurse said while bowing to him. Shippo nodded shortly and looked over the young nurse. Her name tag read, "Sakura", a very common name.

"Have security help you bring her to my office," He said, then waved his hand, signalling for her to leave. While waiting, Shippo read over a couple more files until he heard an angry scream from down the hall. He inwardly grinned. _'I see Kagome is almost here.'_ Quickly he put the stoic mask he had learned from Sesshoumaru back on. Almost a minute later there was another knock on his door.

"Come in." He put the file he was reading down as two muscley men brought Kagome in, each one holding one of her arms. Kagome just looked _wonderful._ Her hair was tangled, her clothes were messed up, and to top it off, she was glowing with hate.

"What the hell do you want?" She demanded as she tore her arms away from security. Shippo just looked at her calmly and folded his hands, placing his head ontop of them. (A/N: Kind of like Gendo does on Evangelion.) Once again he waved one hand towards the guards, then waited until they left to offer Kagome a seat.

"Miss Higurashi, I have been reading over the documents left in your files by your previous doctors." Shippo stated as he showed her her own personal file. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"And? Everything I say is true, down to the last tiny word. I don't need to be in this.. weirdo place." She replied. He could tell she took a minute to look over his features as he was talking, but decided not to say anything to tease her.

"Miss. Higurashi, may I remind you that you say demons exist. Do you have any proof of this?" He inwardly chuckled as she blushed lightly, and then saw her eyes brighten suddenly.

"Actually, yes I do. Demons live forever, right? Until they get killed.. But I know of two demons that would definately still be alive today!" She concluded, sticking her nose in the air and crossing her arms. Shippo's hopes rose suddenly in hope that she still remembered him, even though he knew she would.

"And their names would be what?" He made himself sound cocky, just to push her buttons a little. Kagome smirked.

"Sesshoumaru and Shippo." Kagome said happily. "I know they're alive, because Sesshoumaru is too prideful to get himself killed and Shippo was really young when I left.. him..." He could smell her sadness, and he could see it in her eyes. Shippo couldn't bring himself to push her any farther, but he knew he couldn't tell her who he was just yet.

"And did these... demons have last names?" Kagome flushed again.

"No..." She muttered quietly, finally defeated. She slumped in her chair and almost immediately the fire in her eyes died. Shippo nodded, then picked up his phone to call security back in to take her to her room. He said a few words into the phone, then hung up.

"Higurashi, You will start therapy in exactly a week from today at 8:30. I hope to have you cured from your illness by the end of the year." He told her as she was being hauled away. Shippo saw her dumbly nod before the door shut.

Shippo buried his face in a hand. _'Kagome, I've missed you so much...'_

!End!

TobariChan: I know this one was short too... but you can't blame me. I'm having writer's block already. Besides, I have like a major project due next Monday, which I can't fail because I failed all of last quarter, and I'd like to pass into the next grade, thank you very much. Please, review..

Also.. fire-tiger-c and LynGreenTea and Taeniaea get cookies and plushies. All the rest of you don't because you're too lazy to review like the rest of us!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you, to all the people who have reviewed. The reviews make me feel happy.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters of Inuyasha, or the show in itself. Rumiko Takahashi does. If you think I'm her then you are an idiot.

Kagome stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Today was her day to hang out in the gardens by the institute. The gardens were so beautiful.. to her it was heaven on Earth. Once a week she was allowed out, and she was required to spend it with a guard since she was so 'wild' as the doctors called her. Kagome wished she was allowed out every day. This was the only place she felt at home.

Plopping down onto the grassy earth, she folded her legs underneath her and plucked a flower. Slowly she peeled off the petals, as the wind gently blew through her hair. Kagome looked over her shoulder when she felt a light tap on it and jumped slightly when she saw her orange haired doctor. The raven haired woman sent him a cold glare and turned back to her flower.

She heard a sigh from him before he pointed to the patch of grass next to her. "May I sit here?" He asked her kindly. After waiting a moment, Kagome nodded shortly and plucked another flower from the ground. Dr. Yashiro pushed his legs out in front of himself, leaning back on his arms. "You know, its very nice out here." Kagome blinked and looked over at him.

"I've noticed, but I don't get out often." She sneered, then wove another flower onto the one she already had. He raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Oh? They don't let you out every day?"

"You make it sound like I'm an animal." Kagome glanced over at the patch of flowers near her, then plucked another from it and wove it into the bracelet of flowers.

"They treat you as one." Dr. Yashiro looked up at the sky. Kagome 'hmph'ed and glared at him again.

"You're one of them. So basically you're doing it too." She smartly countered. (A/N: Is smartly even a word? It sounds stupid.)

"But have I treated you like an animal yet?" The doc said. She snorted, and pointed at the sleeping guard sitting on a bench nearby.

"Yes, by forcing that beastly man to follow me everywhere." Kagome took her hand back and threw the flower bracelet she was making at the stupid guard.

"I didn't tell him to." The doctor replied.

"Then make him leave." Kagome demanded as she stood.

"I can't do that." He stood also, looking down his nose at her with his icy green eyes.

"Why?" She pouted slightly, suddenly having the urge to leave.

"Because you would run off and do something rash." Kagome stopped pouting, and then returned his icy glare with equal force.

"I would not."

"Would to."

"Would not!"

"Would to." He ended the conversation by placing his finger over her mouth. "I will not argue with you over something so obvious. Good day, Miss Higurashi." Dr. Yashiro released her from his hold and turned on his heel, and walking off back to the institute. Kagome blinked and sniffed slightly, feeling disappointed for making him leave so quickly.

_'That girl is infuriating. No wonder Inuyasha fought with her all the time.'_ Shippo thought as he strolled down the hallway, catching all the bedroom eyes of the nurses passing him. He snorted to himself. As if they could ever get him. He was only interested in his work and Kagome. _'Even so, I need to get her out of this hell hole. Maybe I can arrange for her to be let out more, so she can get used to being outside rather than in here.'_

When he finally reached his office, he closed his door and locked it. Shippo reached out and pushed one of the buttons on the phone ontop of his desk. The polite, quiet voice of his secretary filled his ears. "Yes Dr. Yashiro?"

"Cancel all my appointments for today." He told the little phone as he sat down in his fluffy chair. Suddenly he felt a burst of miko ki from the gardens and he sighed.

"Is that all Dr. Yashiro?" His secretary asked.

"Yes," He replied, "Thank you, Keiko." He heard a soft click as Keiko hung up on the other line. Shippo leaned back in his chair, and then swivelled it around so he could see out his office window. A sigh passed through his lips as he watched the now unattended Kagome play with her miko energy in the gardens, making flowers grow where they were not needed and making the grass grow long. _'She's been able to master her powers..'_ His eyebrow raised slightly and he found himself laughing at her childish-ness.

Gathering his things, he put on his coat and left his office, heading to his car. _'See you later, Kagome...'_ He thought as he drove out of the parking lot.

!End!

Tobari-chan: I know... Its short. AGAIN. Maybe if you people reviewed more often, I would be more encouraged to write. But since you don't... I will consider stopping this story for a while to write some others.


	4. Chapter 4

Tobari-chan: It's one o'clock in the mornin! And this is my first update in a while. If you haven't read the last author's note, you'll know why I haven't done anything in a while.

Manda-chan: Evil she-who-will-not-be-named! Evilly evily evil!

Tobari-chan: If anyone sees any typos.. please please tell me. I'm a bit tired, but I really wanted to update because I didn't want to make you all get mad at me and I wanted to write something down before I fell asleep at my computer. God I'm tired. BUT-

Manda-chan: Because she loves you so very very much-

Tobari-chan: I decided to give you guys a little something to read before you all go crazy on me and leave me for a newbie writer that mispelles the word... 'the'.

Manda-chan: That was harsh.

Tobari-chan: Yeah... sorry. SO, since this is somewhat chapter 5. PARTY TIME! -Throws confetti.- At the bottom of this will be the rest of the party. BUT, don't skip a head. You get a peak of Shippo's home life! Dun dun dun... Also, As you might have noticed, Keiko was in the last real chapter. You might find some other great anime stars in this one. Oh.. If I get reviews on what anime these people are from I might give you your own character! Maybe. You have to e-mail me. By the way, I am now using sock puppets for my disclaimers... childish.. but I love sock puppets.

Sockpuppet disclaimer: Tobari-chan doesn't own Inuyasha.. or any of the characters in it. So review and please don't sue.

Tobari-chan: Ooo.. that rhymes!

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Shippo flipped on a light and shut the door of his condo before taking off his shoes and stepping onto the white plush carpet of his home. While removing his jacket, he walked over to his beeping answering machine. He pressed a red button and a automatic voice said 'You have: 5 New messages.' Shippo sighed as the voice continued.

"Message number 1:" the voice stopped and a new one continued, "Hey, this is Haku. Dude, I have awesome news! Chihiro's pregnant! I'll talk to 'ya later." Shippo smirked slightly at this news and waited for the next message.

"Message number 2: Shippo, I've been meaning to talk to you about the other week," An extremely girlish voice could be heard sniffing from the machine," I know you didn't mean to break up with me, I really didn't cheat on you. That guy was my bro-" Shippo grimaced and pressed the delete button on his latest ex-girlfriend's voice.

"Message number 3: Hi Shippo. I haven't talked to you in a long time, but this is Sakura. I heard that you're single from one of my friends, so I decided to call you up. I'll call you later since you're not home right now. Maybe we can go out sometime..." The message ended and Shippo flinched. He had hoped to never hear that slut's voice again. (I don't like Sakura...) He had accidently gotten her pregnant in America, and she had been stalking him ever since. She had even followed him back to Japan.

"Message number 4: Hey, its me again... Why don't you ever pick up the phone when I call? I mis-" Again, his ex-girlfriend Asuka. And again, he deleted the message. Shippo sighed and thought _'I have way to many stalkers.'_

"Message number 5: Shippo, its Sesshoumaru. I see from your e-mail that you have found the miko. Why have you not told her that you and I are still alive? Do you find the miko being left in the dark about everything that she left behind amusing?" Shippo growled at this. "You will do well to tell her, before I find a way to confront her myself. I do not think it is wise to keep her alone for much longer." With a loud click and a beep, all the remaining messages were deleted.

Tobari-chan: Please let me sleep!

Manda-chan: NO! YOU MUST UPDATE.

Tobari-chan: Well.. this chapter is a start!

Manda-chan: Don't you think your fans will be disappointed!

Tobari-chan: Yes.. but I'm tired and sick. -coughs.-

Manda-chan: -Le sigh- Fine. But next time... you're not getting away with being ill.

Tobari-chan: ...Slave driver. Anywho... I know this is a short chapter, but cookies and junk food and plushies everywhere for reviewers. Oo.. And I must share the news! I have had exactly eight hundred and eighty hits on my story so far. YAY! -Throws confetti- I shall update later, for I think Manda-chan has drank too much. I apologize, but all of you can couch out on my potato until the next update. God I'm tired... -Zonks out on keyboard.-


	5. Chapter 5

Tobari-chan: Oh. My. God. I decided I was bored, so I wrote an update for this story. Yay me! -quote's London Tipton- Sadly, Manda-chan isn't here. She is in Austrailia looking for a internet cafe to get online and chat with me. Well... she better be. If not, I'll kick her ass.

Disclaimer: There is a time that I wish that someone will come up to me from behind, and ask "Aren't you Rumiko Takahashi?" And I'd turn around, bitch slap them, and say, "Do I look Japanese to you? Besides, I'm not smart enough and Takahashi-sama isn't goth. So ha." And Manda-chan would laugh. Ha. Point is, peeps, I don't own Inuyasha.

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Shippou blinked the sleep away from his eyes and took another sip of his coffee. _'Ah, traffic. Another horror of modern day society.'_ He thought bitterly and glared at the steering wheel infront of him, wishing he had chosen to walk to work that day. That way he wouldn't get fired for being late. _Again._

Then again, traffic gave him a time to think about his current situation. Here he was, drinking a frappichino ( Gotta love those things.), in a nice, cool car, in a comfy new suit, while Kagome, his best friend, was sitting in a padded white room eating stale breakfast pastery, and trying to get the chatty nurse to shut the hell up, curtousy of himself. Damn. Life was just great for her, wasn't it? Note the sarcasm.

He needed to think of a way to get her out of that place. The only way was to make her forget about demons and the Fuedal Era, or atleast make her act like she forgot. But, he didn't want to reveal himself yet. Again, damn. _'Maybe I could just give her a hint... like... take off one of my conceilment spells? Ooo, that might work.' _Shippou snickered to himself, knowing his little plan would work wonderfully. Kagome didn't need to be in that hospital. She needed to be running about in the fresh air. Well... maybe not fresh air. More like muggy. Yes, muggy. And poluted.

And this was the time he wished he were back in the Fuedal Era, where factories didn't exist, and there were no buildings, no cars, and most importantly, no traffic.

Damn.

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Today was the day.

Kagome bounced in her seat. She was one step closer to getting out of this hell hole.

Hurray for therapy. Now if only that hot doctor would show up.

Kagome found her face heating up at the thought of him. One of the guards nearby gave her a suspicious glance and raised an eyebrow at the bright blush on her cheeks. Kagome brushed off the look and forced her face to loose the blush before they went phyco on her.

She figited and twiddled with the long sleeves of her orange sweater. Patience was not a strong feature for one such as herself. Besides, that stale donut and the overly-chatty nurse's conversation from earlier had started to make her feel sick. _'God damn it why can't that no-good doctor hurry u-'_ Her train of thought was cut off by the door slamming open. In rushed the 'no-good' doctor and a stack of papers. Kagome raised an eyebrow her doctor as he slumped in his chair, sighing heavily. She couldn't help it. A giggle rose up to her lips, but Kagome did her best to conceil it. Then again, her best wasn't that great. Pity.

It was Dr. Yashiro's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Do you find anything funny, Miss Higurashi?" Kagome inwardly shivvered from his sharp green gaze, her amusement had left with her confidence, and she found herself once again blushing. The red-haired doctor motioned for the guards to leave, then straightened the pile of papers before him. Most of them were inkblots, as far as Kagome could tell. She sighed, and guessed that it was going to be a long time until she got out of the hospital.

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Now was the time. Their session of therapy had gone well. So far, they had gone through the inkblot test, nothing out of the ordinary there. Then Shippou had listened to an edited version of Kagome's tale, even though he knew most of it.

Shippou had skillfully picked through each of his conceilment spells, and finally decided which to remove. He had picked to simply remove the spell that hid his aura. A good pick, seeing as Kagome had mastered her powers as a miko while in the hospitals' care.

Muttering a small spell was all it took. He had hoped Kagome had not heard him, but she had given him an odd look when he said it. He waited until she brushed it off, and then finished the job. Shippou willed the spell to fade off, and then his demonic aura filled the room. Suddenly Kagome was tense and she was looking at him with a disbelieving glare. "What... Is that..." Shippou's acute kitsune hearing caught onto her whisperes, and pressed a button on his desk. The guards were called back into the room, and each grabbed ahold of one of her arms, dragging her back to her room.

"Bastard." Shippou had clearly heard her say it. He knew that she didn't know it was him, but she knew he was a demon. _'Things are going just **great**.'_ He thought as he leaned back in his comfy chair.

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Kagome knew it. That doctor was too handsome to be just human. She had felt his aura wrapping around her, and she had heard his spell. It hadn't been just her imagination, it was _real_. Dr. Yashiro was a demon, he was just playing with her. But Kagome knew she needed to find out his real name. There was a chance that she heard of him before and that he had lived during her time-travelling days in the Fuedal Era. Maybe she even battled against him once.

No, she probably hadn't. Nevermind that idea. _'But still, I think it's rude that he's just messing with me. Stupid demon. Stupid me.'_ Kagome layed down on her bed and pulled the sheets over her head. It didn't matter that it was probably 10 o'clock, or that she was still wearing her slippers in bed. Kagome fell into a light slumber.

&Later that day&

Kagome was currently sitting in the cafeteria with all the other A-C ranked patients. The A, B, and C's meant that they weren't that bad, only suffering mild delusions and such. She snorted. _'Yup, I'm having delusions.'_ Her hot doctor, her hot _demon_ doctor, had decided to come have lunch with her today. The red haired demon was sitting infront of her, right next to the Russian who heard voices and the American that thought that the devil was inside his head. _Joy._

On the menu today was pizza and mashed potatoes and green beans. Interesting combination. Kagome chewed thoughtfully on the end of a green bean as she thought of a way to ask her doctor what his name was. Easiest way so far she had thought of was to just come out and ask it. He already thought her insane to some point, so why not push it a bit more?

"So..." Kagome began, causing the good doctor too look at her with hard green eyes. She was still chewing on the end of the green bean. "What's your first name?" Dr. Yashiro raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her.

"That is not important. You can continue to call me Dr. Yashiro, Miss Higurashi." So, he knew what she was doing. Smart one, he is. Kagome smiled sweetly at him.

"I was only curious." She continued to suck the juice from the bean she had been chewing. Dr. Yashiro's eyes travelled down to her lips.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to not play with your food?"

"Nope." the doctor sighed. "So..." She decided to try again, "What's your middle name?" Dr. Yashiro rubbed the bridge of his nose with his long fingers.

"Miss Higurashi, I don't have a middle name." _'Ooo... So he's getting a headache, is he? Oh well. Too bad.'_

"Why not?" Kagome asked innocently.

"My mother never gave me one." The miko missed the brief flash of sadness in his eyes.

"Why not?" She repeated. Dr. Yashiro gave her a death glare, his knuckles cracking underneath the table. Kagome could feel the slight anger in his aura.

"She died before she could. And before you ask, my father died shortly after." Kagome suddenly felt pity for the man before her. He reminded her of a cute little fluff ball named Shippou that she had left in the Fuedal Era. She looked down at her plate of food, quickly becoming embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly and quickly, never taking her eyes from the fatty food on her plate.

"It's quite all right. I found someone to care for me after my father died. A rather nice looking young woman, in fact." He replied. Kagome's eyes practically bugged out. Oddly, that sounded so much like Shippou's story. _"That practically sounds like Shippou's story... but I'm not pretty, so it couldn't be him. Besides, his hair was totally orange. And he had a nice fluffy tail...'_

As Kagome day dreamed about fluffing Shippou's tail, she didn't notice that she had oddly begun petting her mashed potatoes. A chuckle from her doctor suddenly shook her out of her imaginary fluffing session only to realize that her palm was coated in gooey mashed potatoes. _'Ew...'_

Her doctor grabbed her hand just as she went to get a couple dozen napkins to clean her hand, "Allow me." Sacrificing his own napkin, he began to wipe the mess off of her while still chuckling about her oddness.

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That night when Kagome layed down in her bed, she thought about her handsome doctor and the mess she had made during lunch. _'Stupid me. Now he probably thinks I'm really insane.'_ But the previous conversation had left her wondering even more about his past life, and a new layer of respect had laid itself down between her demonic doctor and herself. Maybe only on her part... but still. It was nice to know a bit about his past.

&End Chapter.&

Tobari-chan: Wee. What a great chapter. I just had a sudden idea enter my poor pathetic brain and I couldn't get it out. Sorry for a long wait, thank you everyone who decided to be patient. Hehe, I got the idea of the Russian that heard voices and the American that thought the devil was in his head from my sister. She just got out of a mental hospital for trying to commit suicide and she meet those people there. Manda-chan is still gone, by the way.

REVIEW!!!


	6. Chapter 6

Tobari-chan: Well... I still haven't found my twin. -Scowls.- And Manda-chan is still gone. -Scowl turns into a pout.- I'm lonely.

**Review responses for the last chapter: **

**fire-tiger-c - **I'm glad, too. Ooo! I think I may squeeze you into this chappie! Hurray for you!

**Hopelessly Hopefull - **n.n Go ahead, I don't mind. I thought it was a bit odd though. O.o;;

**LynGreenTea - **Omg. Guess what? I am writing again! Omi gawd.

I write a whole chappie for you guys... And I only get 3 reviews, when about 2,000 people have read this story. Pitiful. You guys better be happy that I'm even updating! And that I haven't abandoned this fic! Only 16 reviews. Hell, if I don't get atleast 5 reviews for this next one, you guys don't get another chapter. So ha.

Disclaimer: I own Inuyasha. O.o No, not really. If you believed that, you're a jackass. Really... Like I'm Rumiko Takahashi. If I was, do you think I would be sitting here making fanfictions instead of making it actually happen? No. Although... I wish I was Rumiko. -Le sigh.-

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Kagome frowned at the pale nurse infront of her. Unfortunately for Kagome, her main nurse had been replaced by a new woman. But... alas, Kami must hate our little Kagome, for the woman was a complete and total, for lack of a better word, slut.

The nurse had obviously altered her uniform. The hem of it looked as if it had been cut, for there were little tiny strings hanging down from it. Now it almost showed her rear end. Almost. Also, the neckline had been turned from a turtle neck into a deep, v-line. The little hat that nurses were required to wear at the hospital was oddly missing, and the woman's bleached hair was beginning to grow back its natural black color. About an inch had already replaced the blonde at the roots.

_'Gross.'_ Kagome thought idly as the nurse chatted on about how great it was to take care of people, but in 'baby talk.' _'What does she take me for? A toddler?' _Kagome's mind was suddenly filled with images of how she could slowly, so very slowly, kill the whore-nurse. _'First... I'll take a spoon...' _You could imagine what happened from there. She glanced at her name tag. _'Hi! I'm Saseko!'_ It read, in bright, pink letters. Another blinding color added onto the bright, red, lipstick and the bright, red high heels.

Obviously, she was trying to impress someone.

Kagome thought she knew who. _'Oh lookie, here comes Kowaru!'_ She thought excitedly. Kowaru had been one of her only friends in the whole hospital. He was in there for trying to commit suicide, like so many others there. Well, it was more like he had been trying to get someone to kill him. But it was still considered suicide.

Deciding to cut the nurse off, Kagome waved at her pale, red eyed friend. As always, he had a kind smile on his face. It was then that she felt a surge of anger from the nurse, most likely it angered her to be ignored. _'Oh well.'_ Kowaru waved back at her and continued his walk towards Kagome and Nurse Saseko.

"Konnichiwa, Kagome-san." Kowaru said once he had finally reached her. Kagome smiled at him and leaned against the cool wall.

"Hey." She replied, "I have another therapy session with Dr. Yashiro again today."

"Oh?" Kowaru glared at the nurse, willing her to finally leave and stop looking at him with such lustfull eyes. She didn't stop. Kagome giggled at him, causing his attention to focus on her once again.

"Yeah, we're gonna go over why demons aren't real again." Kagome rolled her eyes, making Kowaru smile. "So, anyways, when's the next time Shinji's visiting you? He's so nice, I wanted to talk to him again." Shinji was like Kowaru's brother. Just like Sango was like Kagome's sister. Kowaru's easy going smile turned into a frown, and Kagome blinked. "Geeze, what's gettin' you mad?" Immediately, the frown was replaced with a grin.

"Nothing, my friend." He waved it off and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Kagome gave him a deadpan look.

"Alright. I'm going to force it out of you one day, though, Kowaru." She smirked at him and he just grinned back. But, it was then that Nurse Saseko decided to cut in.

"No fighting, you two." She said, and turned away from the two teens, stalking down the hall to find some one her own age to talk to.

"Dip-shit." Kagome balled her fist at the back of her slutty nurse. "I already hate that bitch."

"Now, now, Kagome-san, swearing is a sin." Kowaru 'tsk'ed at her, and started to lead the frustrated miko down the halls to the cafeteria for breakfast.

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Shippou's head bolted up as he heard a knock on the door. The poor, overworked kitsune had been sleeping. He wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth, and then stated, "Come in."

The door practically slammed open as a woman about a foot shorter than him stormed in. Her fair skin was looking a bit flushed and her brown eyes were filled with a mix of sadness and anger. The woman's dark brown hair was falling out of the bun it had been placed in. Shippou's eyes immediately filled with concern.

"Naomi? What happened to you?" He questioned, immediately standing and pulling out his chair for his friend to sit in. Naomi sat hunched over, and a sob escaped her throat.

"My boyfriend broke up with me!" She sniffled, "And then I got mugged on the way here, and - and - " Her words were broken off by another bout of sobs. "Today has been so horrible!" This surprised him. Out of all the years he had known Naomi, she had never cried. She was usually a strong woman, and you could tell that by her swimmer's muscles that she worked out often. He had no doubt in his mind that she had been able to save herself from the mugger. Still, the heartbreak she suffered earlier that day must have thrown her off a bit.

Shippou embraced her shaking body, giving her permission to sob on his shoulder. It pained him to see his best friend this way. Naomi was a decendant of Miroku and Sango. He had known her practically her whole life, she knew everything about him and vice versa. "I can't believe Yochi broke up with me." Naomi buried her face into Shippou's red hair. He patted her back gently as she hiccupped from all the tears.

Slowly, she sat back in the chair and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Arigatou, Shippou," She said gratefully, and then looked down at herself and giggled. "Man, I must look horrible." Shippou grinned a bit and helped her up.

"I'll take you to the restrooms, so you can clean yourself up." He took Naomi's hand, and ushered her out of his office and down the hall. But not before placing his cold mask back on. God forbid one of his co-workers find out he had a soft spot for some one.

&End&

**Translations-**

**Saseko:** whore

**Konnichiwa: **Hello

**Yochi: **Earth

**-san: **suffix added to someone's name if you respect them

**Miko: **priestess

**Arigatou:** Thank you

Tobari-chan: Hehe... I couldn't help it with Saseko's name. Lol! Alright, so what if the chapter's short? I introduced 2 new people. Oh, how I love Kowaru... And aren't you happy, fire-tiger-c? I put you in the fic! ...For everyone who doesn't know, she's Naomi. Eh heh... is it alright if I shorten your name to Mimi? Hehe, my sister's name is Naomi and that's what I call her. But if you don't want me to call you that, I won't. So it doesn't matter.

Anyhooo, I'm still looking for a twin! No one has even offered. God, you people are mean.


	7. Chapter 7

Tobari-chan: Aww... I guess no one wants to be my twin. Fine. Be that way. I'll just be like Naraku and make an incarnation. -Sticks her tongue out at them.-

**Review Respones: **

**Holy-Psychic-Vulpix: **Yay! Another new reviewer! Cookies to you!

**Hopefully Hopefull:** Lmao. I'd just keep the Sasukes as pets and kill the Inuyashas. Also... do the purple monkeys fly? Hehe. I want to borrow one. I need to recapture Kurama and Sesshoumaru.

**fire-tiger-c: **o.o It makes me happy to know you love me. And yes, people will die a most horrible death by cookies. They'll have to eat so much they'll explode. Mwohahah. Ooo, cakes for you for being there for a poor pathetic writer like me! Thank you!

**LynGreenTea:** Erm... Thanks for the very creative review. o.o;

**Victoria: **Woot woot. A new reviewer! Hurrah! Cookies for you!

**KawaiiKoneko: **Hehe, thank you. I like it too. o.o Therefore... I will write more... Oh! And cookies to you too for being a new reviewer!

Tobari-chan: Now... Onto more pressing matters! I need/want **seven** reviews for the next chapter. Haha. Also.. yes, that was Kowaru from Evangelion. I lurvity lurve him, so I stole him from it. That why he died in the anime... -Cough.- I brought him back to life and erased all of his memories? ... No... Oh well. Forget all of his past life in Evangelion, he has a new life! With Kagome! I think Shippou is going to have some competition. O.o;

Disclaimer: Once upon a time, there was a very smart Japanese woman. She decided to make a manga, that eventually turned into a TV show in America on Adult Swim. Point is, people, I'm not that woman.

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After Naomi had left, Shippou had returned to his office only to find a nurse by the name of Saseko sitting on his desk indian style. He could see up her dress, and her black thong was on display for all to see. He mentally puked. _'Gross.'_ "Is there anything I can do for you, Nurse?" Shippou asked as kindly as he could. He didn't exactly like it when people came into his office with out him knowing. Besides, she was sitting on his desk.

Saseko licked her lips as she took in his appearance, and then stood. "Yes, there is." He could tell she was trying to sound seductive. It didn't exactly work. The nurse strutted over to him, and when she finally reached him she grinned and leaned on his chest. "You could take me on a date tonight."

Shippou narrowed his eyes at her. "No." He said coldly as he shoved her out of his office and slammed the door in her face. "Ugh." He sighed as he wiped off the part of his desk the slut sat on with a tissue and threw the offending cloth away. "I guess I'm going to have yet another stalker." Another sigh.

(A/N: ... I only added that tidbit for fun. I got bored. Onto the rest of the story! -cough-)

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"Kowaru, don't you think what they're serving us is a bit...odd?" Kagome poked at her tray of food. For breakfast today was a piece of ham, eggs, and a donut. Of course, you didn't have to eat the donut with the ham and the eggs... but it was a bit weird to serve them all together.

"You know, Kagome, you don't have to eat the donut with your food, or vice versa." Kowaru looked at her in amusement as she prodded at the donut once more with a chopstick, suceeding in shoving the wooden stick into its staleself. She held it up to eye level and put it on his plate.

"You eat it then. I don't want to get even more fat." Kagome pulled her chopstick out of the donut and wiped it off with a napkin. Kowaru 'tutted'.

"You're not fat, my dear Kagome," He said, giving her a disaproving stare with his red eyes. Kagome 'humphed' and continued to prod at her eggs. "I think your doctor is coming." Kowaru continued as he watched a red haired man stride towards their table. The 13 year-old Russian girl blushed as she too noticed, and started going on about something in Russian.

Kagome groaned as she looked up just in time to see him sit at an empty spot infront of her, and pushes her food away. "Why me?"

"Because, Miss Higurashi, you have a meeting with me in a half hour. I just came to remind you." The doctor said as he pushed Kagome's food back to her. "And I think you might want to eat, we will be going outside today." In a minute he was gone. Kowaru chuckled.

"Your doctor is odd, Kagome." Kagome cast a deadpanned look at Kowaru and replied, "I know, ain't it great?" Kowaru just kept laughing to himself, but soon sobered.

"Ah.. Kagome, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." His eyes immediately took on a sad look. Kagome looked at him with a worried expression as she chewed on a piece of egg. "I'm being released later today..."

"WHAT!" Kagome exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears as she dropped her chopsticks. "W-why didn't you tell me?" Kowaru looked away from her, he couldn't bear seeing her tears.

"I meant to, but I didn't want to see you cry. Obviously that plan failed." Kagome could tell he was trying to lighten the mood a bit with a small joke, "I'll put myself on your contact list, though. And I'll visit you as much as possible." He finished, looking back at her with a smile on his face.

"You better, mister, or I'll hunt you down and kick your ass!" Kagome joked, raising a fist. Kowaru's smile seemed to get bigger and more relaxed as he wiped away some of Kagome's tears with his thumb.

"Tsk, tsk, Kagome. May I remind you that swearing is a sin?"

"Oh shut up. That's not fair."

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Tobari-chan: I'm sorry peoples, but I have to end it. I know its short and not long enough to get six reviews, but I got tired and its 4 o'clock in the freakin' morning. Yes, I love you all enough to update that early. Aren't you happy with me? Also, I'm planning on making a crossover between Inuyasha and Evangelion. Maybe the only one ever! Exciting, ne? Hehe, I can't wait to post it... Oh, I need help making a title for it. Maybe if I had a TWIN I wouldn't need as much help. Yes, I'm still looking for one. I don't want to masturbate like Naraku and somehow make one. o.o I swear thats what he did to make Kagura, Kanna, and Hakudoshi. (Those are the only ones I remember. -drools- Hakudoshi... )

Oh! I have news on Manda-chan! She's happily in her homestead reading my updates every chance she gets. Hehe, Manda-chan has a boyfriend now! o.O He reminds me of me. Weird but sorta funny. And get this, she got a purse! She never seemed like the type to get purses... Oh well.

As a little reminder... **I WANT SEVEN REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER OR NO MORE STORY!** There. You can't miss it now. Mwoohaha.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm not sure if this chapter got deleted but I didn't save it so... yeah... I think I messed up. Sorry guys.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters in this story. (well.. maybe a couple. )

* * *

_'Five days since Kowaru's been gone...'_ Kagome thought idly as she sat infront of her doctor. Today's subject was inkblots. A raincloud seemed to loom over her mind as she thought of her friend. _'He still hasn't visited me.' _

"Kagome, pay attention!" Dr. Yashiro was looking at her sternly as he held up another Inkblot picture. "What is this?"

Kagome looked at it hard. Her eyes squinted into little slits as she stared at the paper. She imagined little cranks turning in her mind as she said, "Oh! Oh! I know!"

"Yes?" He asked impatiently. (Hey, no coffee makes Dr. Yashiro a very angry man!)

"Ink and rice paper!" Kagome crossed her arms and triumphantly smirked. "I can't believe you didn't know that on your own! I mean, maybe you should go back to school, Doc..." Dr. Yashiro's eyebrow twitched and he scratched his chin in a very familiar fashion with one finger. _'Miroku...'_ Kagome's mind immediately recognized the action as one of Miroku's various poses after getting hit. Her eyes went soft as she became lost in memory.

_---Flashback---_

_"Miroku-sama!" Kagome laughed as she ran after her friend, who had stolen her old pink bike once again. "That's not fair! Gimme back my bag!" Shippou, who was perched atop her shoulder (and struggling to stay there, mind you) sighed dramatically. _

_"Am I the only mature one here?" He muttered, clinging onto Kagome's warm shoulder tighter as they continued to run down the dirt path. _

_"HIRAKOTSU!" Sango's giant boomerang flew over her head, ending the squabble quickly as Miroku was knocked off the pink bike, Kagome's yellow bag strapped onto his back. "Baka Houshi." The demon-slayer muttered as they loomed over him with smiles on their faces. _

_"If you wanted pocky you could've just asked me..." Kagome giggled. She pulled the bag away from the monk's hands and dug inside it, trying to find the box of strawberry pocky. _

_A deep red blush formed over Miroku's cheeks, his eyebrow twitching as he scratched his chin with a finger. _

_---End flashback---_

"Miroku..." Dr. Yashiro looked up at her, immediately stopping the involuntary (Thats one of my spelling words! Yay me!) motion.

"What?" He asked.

"Miroku. The monk." Kagome smiled, her eyes gentle as she remembered her lost friend. "He used to do that all the time."

_'I know.'_ Shippou thought to himself. _'That's who I learned it from. Being around him so much I couldn't help but mimick him sometimes.' _

"I miss them." She said quietly. "Especially Inuyasha and Shippou." Shippou's heart dropped into his gut as he began to feel guilty, but he kept his face almost emotionless as she continued. "Inuyasha was almost like a brother to me by the time I left them. I know he didn't want me to go. And Shippou... He was so young when I left. He must have cried for weeks."

_'Months, actually...' _Shippou thought sadly as he looked into Kagome's hurting eyes.

"Sango and Miroku were supposed to look after him when I was gone. I hope they took care of him." Finally she seemed to snap out of it. "Can I go outside now, I think our session is over." Kagome used a cold tone. He recognized that as one she used when she was depressed.

He looked at the clock on the wall. Actually, they still had a half an hour left... "You can go." He pressed a button on his phone, and Keiko's voice picked up over the reciever.

"Yes Dr. Yashiro?"

"Send in a nurse to take Miss Higurashi outside, please, her session is over."

"Of course doctor." The phone sounded a click as Keiko hung up.

He looked to Kagome, who had her eyebrow raised.

"What?" Shippou asked.

"I was just thinking it was weird you didn't have one of those weird security guards take me outside." She stuck her nose in the air, her face almost turned away from him.

He smirked. "Would you prefer-"

"-No!" She snapped, her face changing into a look of horror. "Please no! I hate those guys!" He chuckled as a nurse knocked on his office door, and Kagome stood to leave.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Higurashi."

* * *

_"Miroku, can I ask you a question?" Shippou asked the monk, his head bowed as he looked at the ground and poked his toe into the dirt. Miroku smiled at the young kitsune, his staff jingling as he shifted towards Shippou. _

_"Of course." He said. Kagome looked over at the two curiously. Shippou, who caught her looking, blushed and 'eep'ed, quickly looking back at the ground. _

_"Alone?" The kit whispered, his face turning up to the monk. Miroku stared at Shippou, blinking for a few moments. Finally he got it. _

_"Ohhh..." Miroku looked to Kagome. She blinked back at him dumbly, not getting the get-out-we-need-to-have-a-man-to-man-conversation look he was giving her. Miroku sighed, and stood. "Why don't we go on a walk. We can talk about it on the way." _

_"Okay." Shippou muttered. _

_"Kagome, we'll be back in a bit, we're going on a short walk." And with that, the two walked out of Kaede's hut. Within moments it seemed, they were out in a nearby field, that was filled with flowers and overlooked the village. "Now what was it you wanted to ask me, Shippou?" _

_A blush spread over his small face. "I... I kinda like a girl." He started. Miroku stayed quiet with understanding. "But... She's older than me..." A wind blew around them, causing the rings on Miroku's staff to jingle slightly. "I really really like her though, I've been friends with her for a long time and..." Little crocodile tears began to well up in his green eyes, "I wanted to ask you how to get her to love me back! I thought since you're all smooth and stuff with women you could help me and-" _

_"-I'm not that smooth." Miroku laughed, discreetly rubbing a sore spot on his head that had been given to him by Sango earlier that day. His face turned serious, though. "You can't really force a woman to love you. Love does not work in such a way." He smiled. "But what you can do is be nice to her. Bring her fresh flowers every morning. Listen to her every word as if it were coming from Buddha through her lips. She will begin to appreciate you then, and she might start to love you as you love her." _

_"Are you kidding me?" A rough voice came from behind the two. Shippou turned around, blushing with anger as he saw Inuyasha standing there, his arms crossed inside his haori. "That's not what women want, baka." He snorted and Miroku rolled his eyes. "You gotta be mean to 'em. Piss 'em off, ya know? Chicks love that bad boy shit."_

_"Inuyasha, you astound me once again with your stupidity." Miroku stated, before turning from the two and walking calmly down the hillside. _

_"HEY! I AIN'T STUPID, STUPID!" The hanyou yelled after the perverted monk, running after him angrilly. _

_Shippou sat down on the ground, watching quietly as the sun set and the villagers slowly returned to their huts from the fields. "Maybe Inuyasha's right." He said after a moment. _

_Kagome couldn't figure out why Shippou was being so rude to her the following week. _

Shippou opened his eyes as he lay in his bed. The red numbers from his alarm clock blared at him through the dark. Why was he remembering that? He smiled. Kagome had been angry with him all that week. He had soon found out that making women mad is _not_ how you get them to like you back. Feelings that he hadn't felt since he was small had begun to churn inside him once again when he found that Kagome was alive and well, finally back in his life.

That dream reminded him why he couldn't tell her it was _her_ Shippou.

_It was the night before Kagome was scheduled to finally go back to her time for good. Shippou's heart ached and his stomach churned, but he had to tell her. "Kagome, can I talk to you alone please?" Kagome looked at him suspiciously. _

_"You're not gonna play any trick on me, are you? Or push me down in the mud or something?" She asked, her eyebrow raised. He frowned a bit. _

_"I promise I won't." _

_Kagome looked at him for a moment before nodding. Shippou grabbed her hand, gently pulling her out of the cramped hut and into the dark night. They wandered out to the very spot Miroku and he had talked just a week before, and they sat on the dewey grass, staring out at the night sky. To Shippou it seemed almost the perfect night to admit his love for her. _

_A couple fireflies floated around them, and Kagome caught one in her hand. She held it out for Shippou to see. "Isn't it beautiful, Shippou? The light it makes, I mean." She sighed, and the bug lifted itself from her hand and continued floating around them with the other fireflies. Kagome stared up at the stars. _

_"Are you going to miss this?" Shippou asked quietly. Kagome's face softened. _

_"Of course I am. The stars back in my time never shine this brightly. I probably could never even sneak out this late to even look at them if they did, anyways..." She paused to look at him. "What did you want to talk to me about anyways?"_

_"I..." Shippou looked down on the village, his throat tightening almost painfully. "We've been friends for a really long time, Kagome... and..." His green eyes turned to her, the fear of rejection began to attack his heart and mind more than it had ever before, "I love you, Kagome. And not as a little brother would love his sister, or a son would love his mother. I really **really **love you." _

_A moment of silence as Kagome stared at him. Shock and pity shone in her eyes as she sat frozen. Nodding, Shippou stood, his chest aching in pain as he forced his tears not to show and his voice not to crack. "I'm gonna go, then. Good bye Kagome..." _

_He turned to leave, his hands fisting at his sides and his bangs covering his teary eyes, but Kagome's voice stopped him. "Shippo... don't go. Please..." _

_"Why shouldn't I?" _

_"I may not love you like you love me..." That hurt him, like a knife running over his skin, "but... You are still my friend, and that's how I love you. As a friend. One day, maybe my feelings for you will change, but right now, I want to just sit with my friend and enjoy his company before I say goodbye." The pain was gone from his mind as he turned to her, his eyes shining with tears as he resumed his spot by her side, and leaned on her. Kagome leaned on him as well, and the two sat there, watching the world as the sun began to rise.

* * *

_

Aww. That's a cute ending. No, the story ain't over. I still have more chapters to go. This was gonna originally be two chapters cause I'm lazy, but I just decided I didn't want an extremely short chapter like normal. On another note... OMG! How many months has it been! Probably too long and most of you are already sharpening your spears and such to come and kill me. I've just been really lazy. I moved back to my old house (I don't know why, my mom is just weird), and got back to my old school. Home work sucks. A lot. Anyhoo.. I expect a lot of props for finally getting off my big butt to write this (well not really since I'm sitting down...) and update! I want a lot of reviews! PLEASE!


	9. Chapter 9

Yay for updates! My new keyboard inspired me to write... That and I feel the hate from reviewers. I think it's been.. what.. almost a year since my last update? Gawsh. I suck.

Shippou sat tapping his pen on the desk as he thought of different medicines to give to Kagome. Too much time had passed and if he wanted to get her out of this place then she needed atleast two different medications and atleast six months of therapy from him while on it. Shippou rubbed his temples. There were few medicines that wouldn't have much of an effect on Kagome, since she wasn't halucinating and didn't have a depression causing her delusions, however real they actually were. (That kinda contradicts itself if you think about it.)

He could blame it on realistic dreams, and give her a sleeping medicine that would make her go into an even deeper sleep, thus getting rid of her 'realistic dreams'. Yeah... That was possible... It wouldn't harm her or make her delerious. Quickly he chose a medication and wrote it down on two different papers, one for her file, and one for her perscription to be ordered.

Shippou looked at the clock. _'Almost time for Kagome's appointment...'_ Shippou again rubbed his temples, fighting the headache of memorys back and suddenly thought of St. John's Wart. Certainly Kagome had mood swings. He had seen them too much to disreguard that notion.

Just as Keiko left with the perscription note, Kagome strolled in, proudly sporting a pair of duck-printed pajama bottoms and a Grumpy care bear t-shirt, and a pair of fluffy blue slippers that made annoying 'shooosh' noises when she scuffled her feet. Grinning like a cheshire cat, she took her seat infront of him. Shippou cocked an eyebrow at her, but she just kept on smiling.

"What's made you so happy?" He asked, and Kagome looked at him as if to say, 'I thought you'd never ask!'

"I have proof Sesshoumaru exists still!" She declared. Shippou's other eyebrow found its way up as well.

"Oh really?" He seriously doubted that Kagome had found any evidence of Sesshoumaru's existance in a mental hospital, of all places. She nodded, and from the bottom of her fluffy kitty slipper she produced a Maru ramen cup top.

"I found it on your secretary's desk when we passed by it." She declared, obviously proud of herself.

Shippou's eyebrow twitched, followed by one of his fingers, and then the corner of his lips. "You think Sesshoumaru owns Maru Ramen?" His mouth twitched again.

"Yup!"

Shippou's eyes began to water as he fought to hold back his laughter. Finally he got his control back and Kagome had an angry look on her face. "Well, its a good guess!" She stuck out her bottom lip and her eyes took on a puppy-like look. Shippou groaned. Not the pout...

The pout was what made him love her.

That and her absurdity.

He mentally shook his head.

"If I know much about demons, I would say most wouldn't lower themselves to making... _ramen_ for a living." He chuckled, and his piercing eyes bore into Kagome, and she almost shivered under his gaze.

"Jerk." She swiveled the chair she was sitting in around, so her back was facing him. "You could atleast be a little nicer." She wasn't really mad at him, she just didn't want those eyes to penetrate hers any longer...

Shippou sighed and threw his pen at the floor. "Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed lately."

Kagome 'hmph'ed and muttered, "I didn't know demons felt emotions." It was meant to be unheard, but Kagome had obviously forgotten that demons had extremely sharp senses.

"Oh no, we do." He deadpanned, and Kagome flinched. He almost sounded like Sesshoumaru.

"You're such a hypocrit, I hope you know." Kagome gritted out, sending him a backwords glance that was filled with-- was it... hate? Shippou merely stared at her. "You say demons do not exist and yet there you are, pretending to be human so others don't notice your kind exist."

"There is no point in letting humans know we exist." Shippou sighed, and there was a knock at the door before it opened. Kagome and Shippou both turned their eyes to the intruder, who just smiled weakly.

"Ehh. Sorry for interrupting!" Naomi scratched the back of her neck, laughing nervously at their glares. "But I need to talk to Shi-"

"Naomi!" Shippou cut her off, as she was about to say his name. "Can you please wait a few minutes, I'm working." His voice was icy, and Naomi flinched.

"Well sorry!" She yelled, her eyes firing up. Kagome stared at her, her glare now gone, replaced by a hint of confusion. "I just wanted to talk to you! God! Sometimes I wonder WHY I'm even your friend, I mean, seriously! You're just an egotistical jerk!"

"Sango?" Kagome said, her voice coming out unsure and a bit shaky.

Naomi stared at her. "Eh?" She blinked in confusion. "My name's Naomi. I don't know any Sango. Sorry." Kagome averted her eyes.

"It's okay. It was my fault for confusing you with someone else." Kagome smiled weakly, and Shippou frowned at the sad aura coming off of the young miko. "Can.. Can I go back to my room please? I have... I have to think..."

"You know, the whole point in you having a doctor and or therapist is that you can share your thoughts with me and I can learn how to treat your illness." Shippou said cooly, but Kagome threw a distasteful glare at him.

"Please?" She pleaded, even though there was a bit of malice in her voice. "I promise I'll share my thoughts with you... eventually."

Shippou thought for a moment, staring from her to Naomi, and then back to Kagome. "Fine. We'll continue this later, Kagome." She immediately stood and walked out the still open door. Naomi almost shivered at the sad look that Kagome gave her as she passed.

"Gee, is she emo or what?" Naomi said after shutting the door and taking the now free seat that was in front of Shippou's desk. Shippou scoffed, although he was smirking inside.

"Now... What are you here for, Mimi-chan?" He asked, using her nickname. Naomi smiled.

"Sesshoumaru-sama has been bugging me about some miko or whatever." She stuck out her tongue as she looked up at Shippou. "He says he's going to, and I quote 'Maim Shippou until he can no longer physically move on his own, or until he goes into a vegitable like state.' Pretty funny, huh?"

Shippou winced. "Eh heh heh... Tell him I'm working on it..."

There was a pregnant silence between them.

"Sooo..." Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. "What exactly is your relationship with that emo miko chick?" Shippou couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Long story, Mimi-chan. Long story..."

---

Kagome sighed as the guard shut the door behind her, and a second later there was a 'click' as it locked. She slumped down on her mattress, staring up at the ceiling with a mourning look.

"How could I have confused her with Sango?" She said to no one in particular. "I.. I guess I was kind of reminded of her... But.. Sango-chan is..." She paused for a moment, hating how she reminded herself that her best friend was long since dead. "I hate this." Kagome felt her eyes begin to water, but pushed them back. "Why didn't I stay with them? Why couldn't I see that I _needed_ them? I still need them..."

She rolled over on her side and shut her eyes. "I wish Kowaru were here."

---

Sesshoumaru grimaced as he felt the many emotions coming from that room, Kagome Higurashi's room.

It wasn't hard for him to get past the many guards in the hospital, though it made him wonder why a mental hospital such as this needed guards. (A/N: Really. I don't know why I put GUARDS in this. That's really insane. Guards... pfft. ) He stood in the shadows as the last of the guards exited the floor, and he mentally chuckled as he thought about the ignorance of the human race. As soon as the door shut, he left the shadows, in pursue of another goal.

Capture the miko.

As he neared the door, another barage of emotions came to meet his senses, and he frowned as he peered through the small window in the door at the weeping form of Kagome. _Shippou has apparently not been doing his job correctly. _Sesshoumaru thought. _He was _supposed_ to be a good little guardian and make sure this sort of breakdown didn't happen. _

Faintly he could smell Naomi's scent on another floor, and he smirked. She was carrying out her part in his little plan to escape with the girl. Sure it was kidnapping (A/N Or Mikonapping. D Sorry I'll let you read... --) but soon they would forget about Kagome Higurashi. Only Shippou, Naomi, and himself would know her whereabouts after her disappearance from the hospital.

He mentally winced as he heard a faint sob from the raven haired woman, and reached for the handle. Suddenly, though, a noise came from the stairwell, and Sesshoumaru growled quietly. _Damn it. _

He glanced at Kagome through the window once again, before disappearing as a member of the hospital security force came through the bolted door.

---

Shippou sniffed the air, wondering to himself why he could smell Sesshoumaru in the building. "Mimi-chan... Did Sesshoumaru accompany you here, by any chance?"

Naomi flinched, and Shippou watched almost amused as she began to twiddle her thumbs together and look everywhere else but at him. "Um.. No."

"Uh huh..." Shippou said apathetically. "Why is his scent in the building then? And why, pretell, do you smell faintly of him?"

Naomi sighed. "I hate demons sometimes." Shippou just smirked at her as he felt Sesshoumaru's prescence leave the hospital in a flash.

-----------

Okay. I have to answer myself.

Why the hell does a hospital have guards? I dunno. I just decided that it needed them. Aren't you all so happy that I updated?! I am too. The chapter is a bit short, though. I am slightly ashamed of myself. -Sadd.-

E-hugs to whoever reviews first!

And no, Manda-chan. You get no e-hugs. l You get the real ones! Huhzah.

Also, I recommend that you all watch Naruto: The Abridged Series. Go look it up, it's done by MasakoX and... the other person's name escapes me at the moment. Something Vegeta. Oh well. The voice talents are great, and it is halarious! Also look up Yu Yu Hakusho: the Abridged Series by Lanipator. It's as good as the Naruto Abridged series! Trust me. Check out Ultimate Naruto Fanflashes! They is funneh as well. l Gee I just realized I have too much spare time. Maybe updates will come faster?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm back. Laptop-less, however. Ugh. I really did wish that money actually DID grow on trees. Maybe if I tap my heels three time and wish for it?

I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in this. Except the obviously made up ones, excluding Naomi. -Borrowed her.-

--

Kagome's mother sighed as she sat in her boss's office, a grim look on her face. Her boss seemed to be completely fine with the fact that he had fired his most expensive worker, however.

"It was lovely working for you, Takamoto-san." With a bow, she left the store, leaving her underlings to cast confused glances and gossip about her sudden leave.

Kanoko grabbed her cell phone from her pocket, dialing the number for Kagome's hospital as she walked home.

"Hello, this is Higurashi Kagome's mother. I was wondering if I could speak to Kagome's doctor about an urgent matter." Kanoko said, attempting to be calm as she was put on hold by a snobby sounding old woman. There was a ten minute wait until someone picked up the phone on the other side.

"Dr. Yashiro. How may I help you, Mrs. Higurashi?" A cool voice said into her ear. Kanoko sighed.

"I told you to call me Kanoko, Yashiro-san." Kanoko sighed. "I was fired just a few moments ago. It seems the company is cutting down on workers." Her voice almost broke, but the doctor on the other side stayed silent. "I can't pay for Kagome to receive treatment anymore. I'm asking you to release her, please."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for maybe a minute. "I'll see what I can do, Kanoko-san."

"Thank you, Doctor, for everything." Kanoko put her hand on her forehead. "I know Kagome can be a bit of a bother, but I do love her." Another sigh. "I just wish I knew how to help her myself."

"You know... Kanoko-san..." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "She seems to be doing very well. The higher-ups were thinking about releasing her early, because of that. But, when Kagome gets out, if you're still worried, I can do a few private sessions with her."

Kanoko gasped. "I couldn't ask such a thing. Besides, I wouldn't be able to repay you at all! I wouldn't be able to live with myself..." A chuckle answered her.

"I wouldn't accept your payment anyways, Kanoko-san. I've... I've come to care for the girl." He seemed to struggle with that last bit, and Kanoko couldn't help but smile. "I'll do my best to help her, not just for her, but for you, too."

"..Thank you, doctor... I don't know what to say." She replied, making her way up the many stairs of her shrine.

"I think I may be able to have her ready to leave by the end of the week, with my boss's permission." Dr. Yashiro said. The next thing was said with a small bit of humor. "Maybe they'll be so inclined as to release her tomorrow."

"That would take a miracle..."

"I know quite a few miracle-makers, Kanoko-san." A chuckle sounded through her ear. "Goodbye, I'll call you when I get more information."

Kanoko smiled. Dr. Yashiro was a good man. Almost perfect for her daughter, especially since Kagome was.. well.. Not right in the mind. "Thank you. Goodbye." Kanoko flipped the phone shut, finally reaching the top of the stairs. As she looked over at the God Tree, she frowned, a very faint memory, maybe even a dream, coming to her. A white haired boy with dog ears sat in her dining room, yelling at her daughter. Another one, a little clearer, of Kagome saying a word that sent the same boy into the floor. Kagome smiling at her mom while holding the boy's clawed hand. Kagome waving bye as she walked out of the door, a huge yellow bag strapped over her shoulders. Kagome coming back with tears in her eyes, Kagome sobbing about someone named 'Kikyou', Kagome screaming as the boy came from the bathroom with Souta, both stark naked and yelling. Kagome laughing with the boy about something Buyou had done to Souta.

Kanoko shut her eyes, blocking the some what painful images before a headache began. After a few moments, the visions began to fade. She shook her head, opening her eyes and continuing back into her home, attempting to ignore the fact that the silver haired boy fit the description that Kagome had given her of her so called Inuyasha so many times.

--

Shippou frowned as he dialed Sesshoumaru's number, knowing he had something to do with Kagome's mother being fired. A frigidly cold voice answered him. "What is it?"

"Don't get testy, Sesshoumaru. You knew I would call." Shippou snapped back. "Why did you fire Kanoko-san?"

"I would have thought that answer would be simple. Kagome is to be released tomorrow. I have already spoken.. well, let's both be honest, I threatened them with early retirement on their part if they didn't release her. Seeing as I am in charge of most of the things that happen in this town, they happily obliged." Shippou tapped his fingers on his desk, agitated that Sesshoumaru had been able to get Kagome out while he had to rely on only his job to help her.

"Alright, you can call Kanoko-san, then." Shippou switched to a more pleased voice when Sesshoumaru merely grunted. "I'm sure you know more about the specifics of Kagome's release and would be glad to inform Kagome's mother." With a quick bye, he pushed the 'end call' button on his phone and pressed a button on his office phone.

Keiko's voice replied. "Yes, Doctor?"

"Send someone to get Miss Higurashi."

"Right away, sir."

--

Kagome was, however, busy at that moment. From a white room, she was happily visiting with Kowaru. Well, being visit_ed_.

"... and you know they tried feeding us spaghetti and colslaw yesterday? Where are we, at a barbeque? Sure, I like the two choices, but not together..." Kowaru allowed Kagome to prattle on and on about random things for over a half hour now. He did this with a smile, he was happy to see his friend, even if it meant being fourty-five minutes late for work, not counting the time he would be caught in traffic.

There was a knock on the door before a plump nurse walked in on the two. "I'm sorry, but Dr. Yashiro needs to speak with Kagome. He said it was urgent." Kagome pouted, but Kowaru only nodded.

"I'll see you later, Kagome-chan." He smiled at her sad face, glad to know she still cared for him. "I need to get to work, anyways." He gave her a quick hug. "Goodbye for now."

"Bye..." Kagome said sadly as she watched him leave with not so much as a backwards glance. When he was gone, Kagome turned to the nurse. "Okay, show me to the devil-man."

--

Shippou watched Kagome closely as she walked into the room, clad in a pair of bright green scrubs and a pink Hello Kitty t-shirt. She gave him a suspicious look as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Yes, O' Master?" Kagome said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"However much I like the sound of that, you can just call me Dr. Yashiro." Shippou leaned back in his chair, his arms folding over his chest.

Kagome scoffed. "Whatever. What do you want? Today is my off day." She put her hands on her knees, leaning forward with a playful glare on her face.

Shippou started at her for a moment before answering. "You're being released tomorrow." Kagome gaped openly at him, her mouth falling open slightly and her eyes widening before she straightened up, looking almost hurt.

"Pull the other one." She said quietly. "You can't be serious. Don't joke about these things." Her fists clenched, her could see a small tear welling up in her eye.

"I wouldn't joke about it, Kagome." He smiled then, reassuringly. "Your mother is coming to pick you up some time tomorrow."

"Why?" She asked pathetically. "Why are you allowing this? I know you're a demon, I know you don't want me to spread random crap about you. I would want to keep me locked up if I were you." Her face scrunched up in disbelief. "I would want to get rid of me."

Shippou frowned. "I have my reasons." He stood, and walked around the desk to crouch in front of her. Kagome noticed the look of want in his eyes, hidden carelessly behind the cold. A hand reached up slowly to touch her face, but stopped just before it could. He paused, seeing the tear rolling down her face and clenched his fist before standing. "Pack your things. I assume your mother will get here early to retrieve you." With that he left the office, and the plump nurse returned to take Kagome to her room.

--

Early the next morning, Kagome was checking all of her things when a knock sounded on the door. Not waiting for anyone to answer, the person opened the door and walked in. She turned around to see Dr. Yashiro. He had an intense look on his face as she hesitantly spoke. "Uhm.. Hello, Dr. Yashiro."

"I wanted to apologize for my.. actions yesterday." His eyes didn't leave hers, though she desperately wished he would look else where. "It was unacceptable and I hope you will forgive me."

Kagome sighed at his formality, but she knew that was just how he acted. "Even though I'm usually one to hold grudges... It's alright."

"Then... Will you forgive me for this as well?" Without waiting for an answer yet again, he was in front of her in a second, holding her against his muscled chest while he pressed his lips to hers in an almost desperate fashion. After a moment Kagome seemed to realize what was happening and returned the kiss, her lips opening when his tongue ran over them slowly. His tongue plunged into her mouth, rubbing against hers in ways Kagome had never experienced as it explored her mouth. Kagome let a soft mewl escape her as their tongues assaulted each other, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled away from her, a small string of their mixed saliva connecting their lips as they both inhaled some much needed oxygen.

"I wanted to do that before you left." The red head said, leaning down to nuzzle at her neck. "You don't know how long it took me to work up the courage to do that..."

Kagome snorted, tightening her arms around his neck. "A couple of days?" She wanted to shiver at the rock hard body that held her, wishing it was longer than a couple of days, truthfully.

"Years, actually." He replied after a few moments. "I've wanted to do that for so long."

Kagome furrowed her brows. "But.. I've only known you for maybe 3 months..." The doctor shook his head.

"No... You've known me for much longer than that, Kagome-chan." He sighed as Kagome pulled away from him, an incredilous look on her face.

"What?"

"Your mother's here to pick you up." A smile showed on his face. "Would you like a hand with your things?" Kagome glared at him defiantly as he grabbed her two bags of clothes and held the door open for her.

"What do you mean, 'you've known me for much longer than that,' huh? I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before and... Hey! Get back here!" Shippou was already on his way out the door and down the hallway, intent on not saying anything to her.

In the elevator, though, he finally got fed up. "I'm not telling you anything, human. Figure it out yourself and then call me." He said coldly. He almost regretted it when she flinched ever so slightly. The lift came to a stop and Shippou ushured her out of it and into the main lobby, where her mother cut off any further arguements from the raven with a large hug.

Shippou frowned when Kagome glared at him angrily, her tongue sticking out as she left.

For Kagome, the next week was going to be hell.

For Shippou, it was going to be even worse when she figured it out.

--

A/N: Jeeze. I know you guys are like, 'urg! ten chapters and 6 months of waiting and all we get is a kiss and an uber short chapter!?' Yeah. I'm bad, and I know it.

I haven't gotten my laptop yet, guys, but I'm trying. Money is tight for a fifteen year-old though. Well... it's tight for my whole family right now. My mom and my stepdad are most likely getting a divorce and my oldest sister is being terrorized by a money spending ho. AKA my 19 year old sister. I say this because I love her, so don't jump down my throat being all, "That's your sister! How can you call her a ho?!" Uh... Cause she is. And she's my sister, so I'm allowed to. She's also a bitch...

Other than having money problems, my summer has been going really good. I flew over to Idaho and Utah for a bit. I was forced to visit the temple in Salt Lake because my grand parents are uber religious mormons even though I'm sort of atheist now. Before that I got to go to Cedar Point in Ohio for a band thing. It was the first time I'd ever been on a rollercoaster and I can't wait to go back, though that won't happen for a long time probably. I saw some really hot guys there, too. Not that I talked to any of them. -Is engaged and underage.- Yeah. That's new, too.

I would appreciate reviews. I stayed up all night to type this, and even though its nothing compared to how long some of you have been waiting for this chapter, I just haven't been up to writing anything because of my parents' divorce and my depression. Which is why summer is a good time to turn things around, right?

Seriously.

Review.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm baaaack. –Hugs and kisses.-

Warning: This chapter may contain very lame writing and not a lot of humor. You have been warned. (Obviously.)

Come along, ducklings, and follow the story!

--

Kagome threw her head into her hands, groaning out load. It had been only two hours and already visitors had shown up from all over Japan to see her.

Namely her friends, Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri.

"Mom, make them go away… please…" Kagome muttered helplessly to her mother, who was sitting next to her with an aggravated smile and a twitch in her left eye as Kagome's three high school friends chattered on and on about the parts in their lives that Kagome had missed, the boys they've dated, places they've been, boys they've dated, colleges they're going to, boys they've dated.

Mostly about boys they've dated.

The nonstop talking was beginning to wear on Kagome's patience.

"And then there was this American boy I dated for two a whole ten minutes that I met in a coffee shop, his name was Zack… Zack… Zack something. He didn't tell me his last name but I instantly liked him until I saw what he was drinking and it was a Triple Chocolate Frappacino and you know how I hate chocolate! That reminds me, there was a black guy I dated a few months ago named Ezeckial and we hit it off instantly! He was sooo good in bed that first night, but then I found out he had a wife and five kids and I was like, EW. I'm like a homewrecker or something because that's the tenth guy I've dated that had a wife and kids, and it makes me feel bad sometimes you know? Oh, there's this professer at my college and he's soooooo dreamy."

Kanoko cleared her throat abruptly, causing the chatter, mainly from Yuki, to stop. Kanoko smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, girls, but I'm getting a bit of a cold, and I don't want to get you all sick."

Eri shuddered. "Oh please no! I have a huge test tomorrow in my English test tomorrow, and I can't miss it. I'll leave. Goodbye, Kagome-chan, I'll call you later to tell you how my test went, and I just HAVE to tell you about what my mom is doing now, you WON'T believe it." Eri stood, showing herself the door quickly.

Ayumi smiled softly, still a little shy. So far she had only talked about college and her new husband, a wealthy business owner that she met at a Goukon a few years ago. "I'll leave too, I have to finish cooking dinner for Jin. I'll call you if I have time tomorrow, Kagome-chan." She gave Kagome a small pat on the knee, a very 'Ayumi' thing to do, before following Eri's lead.

Yuka gave Kagome a big hug. "Alright, well, I'll talk to you later tonight maybe, your mom gave me your number. I have a date with Ayumi's husband's friend, who's also a very wealthy man." She winked as she stood and waved goodbye as she left.

As soon as she heard the door slide shut, Kagome collapsed on the couch. "Ugh, Mom, they're so annoying…" Kagome moaned pitifully. She kind of felt bad for the way her friends lives had turned out, Yuka in particular because she seemed very… promiscuous. But it wasn't her life, and she didn't want to seem like the meddling friend who just got out of the crazy place.

However, now she was just the friend who got out of the crazy place.

It did not make her feel good.

And neither did the phone ringing right behind her head.

"Oh geez. Who is it now?" Kagome growled, burying her head into the couch pillows.

Kanoko scanned the caller ID. "Hmm… It's Hojo." A small smile lit up her older face. "I haven't heard from him in such a long time, I wonder what he's up to, and if he's married." She gave a wink to Kagome, whose eyes widened before narrowing.

"No."

"Moshi moshi, Higurashi residence, this is Kanoko speaking…. Oh hello Hojo! How are you? ….Oh yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking. Just a small headache every now and then… Some herbal tea? That would really help? Alright, I'll try it." Kagome groaned. Still the same Hojo. "Why, yes, Kagome was just released earlier today. Of course she would love to see one of her old friends!"

"Moooom…." Kagome groaned. "Please don't make me…" She coughed like she was sick, "See, I'm sick, can't have any visitors, cough cough."

But someone was already knocking on the door.

"Oh, Hojo, will you hold on for just a moment? Someone's at the door." Kanoko brought the phone with her as she went to open it, and Kagome lost sight of her for just a moment.

And then came the laughing.

Kagome sat up, twisting around so she could see over the back of the large couch, over to the door. And scowled.

Hojo.

The actually evil monstrosity that haunted her school days, asking her out nonstop for dates and giving odd medicines that she threw away right as she walked in the door.

"Hello, Kagome-chan!" Hojo had matured only a little, not growing much taller and keeping his hair in the same style it had been since Kagome first met him. He had only bulked up a little, probably thinking that it made him look better. It didn't.

Kagome stood, ready to run if necessary, but instead nearly screamed when Hojo got down on one knee. She gaped at her mother, who looked shocked as well.

"H-Hojo, w-what are you doing?" Kagome said, trying to pull away her hand as he grabbed it tightly, but he wouldn't let go.

He gave her a fierce, determined stare, and Kagome was shocked that he could pull that kind of look off.

"Higurashi, Kagome. I know you've been away in a mental hospital for some time now." He was tearing now.

'Oh god…' Kagome thought. 'No, no, no!' She looked at her mother again, who was now smiling proudly with small tears in her eyes.

"I never stopped loving you!" Hojo cried, "I thought of you every single day, every moment! I don't care if you're crazy because I love you anyways! Higurashi, Kagome, will you marry me?"

The tears on her mother's face overflowed, and she fell to her knees in happiness. Kagome's mind was blank, and then images blurred past her.

Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, Kaede, more images of Inuyasha and Shippou. Why Shippou? What would they think of her getting married to someone she didn't love? What would Sango, her best friend, think?

She could almost hear Inuyasha's growling, annoyed voice. "If you don't love 'em, why stay with 'em?"

And Sango… "Kagome… are you serious about doing this? I always thought that you would marry for love, not… this."

Shippou would be crying. He told her that he loved her the night before she left. This would break his heart if he was still alive in Modern Japan, if he even still loved her.

Most of all, what would her mother think if she turned Hojo down? He was trying to slip a ring on her frozen fingers, but it was hard since she kept her fingers clamped together.

Determined, she decided to let him down easy.

"Ah.. um.. Hojo-kun." She stuttered at first. "I don't know if this… is something I should do right now." Kanoko's face snapped up, the tears instantly gone, replaced with shock. "I-I mean, I just got out of the hospital a few days ago, I need time to adjust!" She finished quickly, looking away from her Mama, who looked somewhat disappointed.

Hojo looked sad for a moment, but then a bright smile took over his face. "Then I will help you adjust, Kagome-chan. You don't have to worry! I'll get you a job at my pharmaceutical company, and I can help you look for an apartment somewhere nearby, and I'll help you whenever you need it! I promise you!"

Kagome could feel the giant invisible sweatdrop forming on her forehead.

"And during this time I will court you!"

Kagome fell. "Ah, no… That's not what I.."

Kanoko interrupted, cheering. "How noble, Hojo-kun! I accept completely as Kagome's only parent!" Kagome inwardly groaned. This was not the way her Mama was supposed to be acting. At all.

Hojo stood, a big smile on his face. "I'm just as excited as you are, Kagome-chan." 'Uh, NOT excited.' Kagome growled in her mind. "I must go, I'll call you later about an interview for the job in my company. You won't be doing much, since you didn't go to college yet, but that's just another thing we must do for you. You might just be my secretary." He winked. "Goodbye, Kagome-chan, Mama Higurashi!"

When he shut the door, Kagome screamed. "MAMA! How could you?!"

Kanoko only smiled. "I think it's time for you to get married, Kagome-chan. You're already at the right age, so you could have found a good man in no time, but this is easier than going to a Goukon like Ayame, right?"

Dr. Yashiro's face floated through her mind. "No, Mama, I already…" She blushed slightly. "I already like someone…"

Kanoko's smile got even bigger. "Is this person a wealthy doctor?" Kagome gaped. "I knew it!" Kanoko danced. "I'll call Hojo soon to tell him that the courtship is over; we can't ruin his good mood so soon, can we?" She mused.

Kagome collapsed on the couch. "Mama…" She muttered, "You're too unpredictable…"

-

An hour later Kagome was on her bed, which was still pink and frilly as it had been five years ago, huddled in the silky covers. Kanoko had made her an early dinner, and soon after she went to bed. Her room was dusty from no one living in it for a while. Kagome sighed into her pillow, replaying the kiss from Dr. Yashiro in her mind over and over.

Who was he? She thought idly, trying to remember seeing him in her travels all over feudal Japan. There were no handsome demons that she remembered besides Sesshoumaru. He definitely wasn't Naraku, he was dead. Completely dead. They had made sure of it.

It wasn't Sesshoumaru, he would never have been that nice to her, and he wouldn't have kissed her. Sure, they had become allies but he wouldn't have even been nice to her if he had his way.

That and Sesshoumaru did NOT have red hair.

So who was Dr. Yashiro?

Inuyasha couldn't live that long, he was only a half demon, or he would at least be an old man by now, all huddled over, at least that was Kagome's reasoning.

Kouga was out of the question, he was too rouge and immature to become a doctor, he probably wouldn't have matured much in five hundred years, though he did love her in his own… weird way.

And he probably didn't know the spells that Dr. Yashiro had revealed himself to know. He would have had to hide demonic markings, and Kagome bet that he had a tail.

"Hm… I wonder if it's fluffy…" She sighed, and then shook her head. "No, Kagome, no fluffiness for you, you have to think now!"

'Maybe he has ears… nice soft red ones… mmm…' She thought sleepily.

If Shippou or Sesshoumaru or even Inuyasha were here, they would be able to smell who it was and tell her immediately.

At the thought of Shippou, her heart gave an unexpected tug. Kagome tiredly put her hand over her heart, closing her eyes. One of her best friends was here, and he hadn't come to find her yet. Why not? Had she hurt him that badly on the last night in Feudal Japan? 'I didn't mean to…' Kagome muttered in her mind, just before falling asleep, images of Dr. Yashiro filling her mind and haunting her dreams.

--

"Mama, it's so nice of you to take me shopping!" Kagome pranced alongside her mother happily as they walked through the mall a few blocks away from their shrine. "But where did you get the money? You told me you were fired." She gave her mother a sidelong glance, which was met with a sly smile.

"Don't question your Mama, Kagome-chan." Kanoko laughed as if she had a secret. "I have my ways. You would do well not to question them."

In Kanoko's mind, she mentally replayed the scene from earlier.

_Rrring, rrring…. Rrring rrring…_

_Kanoko looked up from the newspaper at the table to the phone. "Oh, I hope it's not Hojo again… and for someone to call this early in the morning…" She sighed, standing and reaching for the phone. "Moshi moshi, Higurashi residence, this is Kanoko." _

"_Good morning, Kanoko-san." Kanoko grinned widely when she heard the silky voice of Dr. Yashiro. _

"_Good morning, Yashiro-san. How are you?" She replied. "How odd of you to call this early in the morning." _

"_I'm not interrupting your morning meal, am I?" He asked, his voice apologetic. _

"_Oh, no, nothing like that, I was simply reading the morning paper. If you were going to ask about Kagome-chan, she's still sleeping. She claims that the beds at your hospital are a tad bit stiff."_

_Dr. Yashiro chuckled. "I've heard her say that many times, though to me she says that they are like sleeping on a bumpy rock." _

_Kanoko laughed. "So what exactly are you calling for, Yashiro-san? I hope there's nothing wrong with Kagome's release forms…" _

_He cut her off smoothly. "Of course not, I made sure that everything was ready personally before releasing her to you. I was simply wondering if Kagome had any… proper clothing." _

_Kanoko's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "What do you mean?" _

_She could almost feel the embarrassment in his voice, but maybe it was only her motherly instincts. "All she's ever worn at the hospital were scrubs and pajamas that were either too big or too small. I've transferred some money into your bank account to buy her more… proper clothes." _

_Kanoko could have fainted. "Yashiro-san! You don't have to do that! I'll call the bank immediately and tell them to…"_

_Again he cut her off. "Kanoko-san, consider it a gift to your daughter from me. I've given you enough money to give her anything she needs, I have more money than I know what to do with, and it's a pleasure to give it to someone who is in need." _

_She was silent for a moment, before speaking again. "Yashiro-san… are you sure? I don't want to spend all of your money for simple things like clothes and…" _

"_I am one hundred percent positive. After you hang up, call the bank and approve the transfer. Please do not reject my gift, and do not tell Kagome where you've gotten the money from, she will probably refuse to spend it on herself." _

_Kanoko blinked. How did Yashiro-san know her daughter would do such a thing? Only she, Souta, and her father knew that Kagome had such a kind heart. _

"_Ya-Yashiro-san… Why are you doing this for my daughter?" _

_The doctor only chuckled. "I've cared for her since… she first came here. She just has that aura that makes people like her, and I know that she might say she doesn't need anything from anyone, and she can make do without necessary things, but on the inside she yearns for them, though she won't say anything." _

_Kanoko smiled then. "This is a very kind thing for you to do, Yashiro-san. In my daughters place, thank you." _

"_You're extremely welcome. I don't want you to pay me back either, this is a gift to help Kagome adjust from being in the hospital for over five years." _

"_Ah. Okay." Kanoko knew she couldn't refuse the money, it would be rude. "Goodbye and thank you again, Dr. Yashiro." _

"_You're welcome, Kanoko-san. Goodbye." _

_Kanoko hung the phone up, her eyes wide as she called the bank, wondering just how much money Yashiro-san had given Kagome. _

"_Hello, Tokyo Bank, how can I help you?" A cool female voice answered. _

"_Hello, this is Higurashi, Kanoko. I would like to approve a bank transfer into my account." Kanoko refused to let her voice quiver. _

"_Ah, Higurashi-san, we've been waiting for you to approve this." The voice answered. A few seconds passed. "Alright, all 861,933,135 yen has been transferred into your account from Yashiro, Shippou. Thank you for using Tokyo Bank." _

_Kanoko hung up the phone, her mouth tightly shut, her face turning a pale white. _

_And then she fainted. _

_--_

'I had no idea that Yashiro-san was so wealthy… What is he doing being a doctor? He should be a movie star or something... This could buy Kagome-chan a brand new car and not even make a dent!' Kanoko thought idly, watching Kagome come out of the changing room wearing a pair of ripped tight jeans and a tight black t-shirt that had a picture of an American band on it.

"Kagome-chan, you look so pretty… even in such an American style!" Kanoko gushed, and Kagome grinned.

"Thanks Mama." She ran back into the changing room, to try on another outfit, this time coming out in a work suit, the last of the clothes she was trying on here. They had already been to five stores, and the trunk of Kanoko's car was full of clothes and cheap jewelry and even a laptop for Kagome.

The woman's suit was a bit long on the legs, but a pair of heels would fix that. Kanoko stood, "I'll be right back, stay there." She ran off to the shoe section quickly and picked out a pair of peep heels that had a five inch heel on it. She gave them to Kagome and she slipped them on. Kanoko smiled.

"You look wonderful, so smart."

Kagome shrugged, but smiled at the same time. "Thank you so much, Mama. This is amazing. I had no idea you had so much money saved up for when I got out."

Kanoko laughed hesitantly. "Yeah, I know, right?" Luckily Kagome didn't notice, and she hurried to change into her normal clothes, a pair of jeans from when she was in high school that were a size to big now and a pink t-shirt that said 'Lollipop' on it.

They paid quickly and hurried out of the store, it was already dark outside and they had to haul all the bags from the car into the house.

"I'll park in the back so we don't have to make so many trips up all those stairs…" Kanoko said as they waited in traffic. Kagome nodded.

Behind their shrine was a long road that led right up to the garage in the back. Not many people noticed the road since it was in an alleyway.

And that was when Kagome turned to look out the window, getting the feeling of being stared at.

Cold golden eyes peered into her own bright blue ones from a black limousine, the window being cracked just enough for the person to get a better view of her.

Finely trimmed silver eyebrows rose slightly, and then Kagome felt it.

Youkai.

It was Sesshoumaru.

--

Buwahaha. I'm evil.

But no, I'm back, and Manda-chan is too!

Manda-chan: Hello! Wanna pottart?

Me: …Pottart?

Manda-chan: You wouldn't understand.

Me: …FINE.

Manda-chan: Please review! It keeps me and the author happy. *smile*


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